In 2014, Marvel had a story arc called "Death of Wolverine" where Wolverine (also known as Logan) died. A virus burned out his healing factor, making him vulnerable. During a long battle with various enemies, he ended up being covered in adamantium and dying of suffocation (obviously, that's the short version). While no one familiar with comics seriously believed Wolverine would die permanently, few expected his character to be recreated so radically. Marvel announced that the mantle of Wolverine will be adopted by Laura Kinney, better known as X-23.

For those unfamiliar with her, X-23 is Logan's female clone with all of his abilities, including regeneration, heightened senses, and adamantium claws. She was created by a secret organization called the Facility to be a deadly assassin. Eventually, she was adopted by Logan as his surrogate daughter, and even joined X-Force. Now she'll be officially taking on the name and costume of Wolverine.

Wolverine has always been an icon of machismo, which makes this change more surprising and controversial. But we think that's exactly why it works. If Wolverine can be a woman, it opens the door to more non-stereotypical female heroes.